Exercise lowers cholesterol levels, but some anti-cholesterol drugs may make it harder to exercise.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Last week we reported that statin drugs, which are widely prescribed to lower cholesterol, can inhibit sexual pleasure. Now a study by the same researcher finds that they can also lower people’s energy levels, which has wide-ranging implications about how the drugs should be prescribed. The research was released at the American Heart Association’s 9th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention. And lead researcher Beatrice Golomb, MD, professor of medicine and director of the Statin Study Group at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, says the side effects of these medications warrant a rethinking of how they’re used.

THE DETAILS: Dr. Golomb and her colleagues followed 1,016 men and women who had high levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol but no heart disease or diabetes. Each was randomly selected to take either a placebo or statin drug (simvastatin or pravastatin). The participants self-rated their energy and activity levels at the beginning of the study and again 6 months later. At the end of the 6 months, the participants taking the medication had reduced LDL levels. But they were also more likely to rate their energy and activity levels as “much worse,” compared to those who weren’t taking the drugs.

WHAT IT MEANS: Anything that makes it harder to exercise and be active is likely to be detrimental to your health. So this could be an equation-changer when it comes to using statin medicines to control cholesterol levels. “To my mind, this study provides a reason for arguing that you really have to study whether statin benefits exceed risks in the longer term,” says Dr. Golomb “Because lack of exercise has serious long-term health implications, the in-the-moment benefits of statins won’t always outweigh their risks over the years.” Especially, she says, when statins are being prescribed to prevent disease, not correct existing disease. “I think it’s way past time to think of statin use in a different way than the U.S. guidelines do,” Dr. Golumb adds. “Lack of exercise…should factor into the risk/benefit equation for the drug.” She questions the impartiality of some members of the guideline-generating committee, whom she says have received drug company money. “I just don’t understand guidelines that recommend medicine use for prevention—not just existing disease but prevention—where the benefits do not necessarily exceed the long-term risks,” she says.

Here’s what you can do to stay energetic on statins—and make sure you should be taking them in the first place: